


The Poisoned Needle and the Crystal Grove

by Hours_Gone_By



Series: Transformers Fairy Tale Retellings [8]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers Generation One, Transformers – All Media Types
Genre: AU Yeah August 2020, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe – Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe – Royalty, Community: trope_bingo, Fairy Tale Retellings, Fix-It of Sorts, M/M, Magic, Marriage, Other, Polyamory, Royalty, Trope Bingo Round 15
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:13:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25776448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hours_Gone_By/pseuds/Hours_Gone_By
Summary: "O wise trout," Overlord said to it, "tell me, am I not the most beautiful monarch in all of Cybertron?""O, I am afraid not," the trout said, with a swish of its tail.Overlord frowned. "If it is not me, then who?""Why, it is your own creation."Overlord's jealousy leads to tragedy.
Relationships: Chromedome/Rewind, Chromedome/Rewind/Dominus Ambus, Rewind/Dominus Ambus
Series: Transformers Fairy Tale Retellings [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1305272
Comments: 14
Kudos: 21
Collections: Trope Bingo: Round Fifteen





	The Poisoned Needle and the Crystal Grove

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fairy Tale Anon](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Fairy+Tale+Anon).



> Written for AU Yeah AUgust 2020, Prompt: Royalty, Trope Bingo Round 15: Fix-it Fic.  
> Based on [Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree](https://dev.surlalunefairytales.com/book.php?id=78&tale=2756).

An Age or more ago, there was a king of a great land who had a spouse, Overlord, and a creation, Dominus Ambus. One day, as Overlord and Dominus Ambus were walking when they came upon a circle of crystals. In the centre of the circle was a pool of energon, and in the pool, there was a trion-trout. Now, in this land, trion-trout were wise and would truthfully answer any question put to them and so Overlord spoke to the fish.

"O wise trout," Overlord said to it, "tell me, am I not the most beautiful monarch in all of Cybertron?"

"O, I am afraid not," the trout said, with a swish of its tail.

Overlord frowned. "If it is not me, then who?"

"Why, it is your own creation, Dominus Ambus."

Furious, Overlord stormed home and locked himself in his room, vowing he would never come out unless and until he could absorb the spark of his own creation. Dominus Ambus followed silently, knowing his creator's temper and unpredictability and planning a way to get himself to safety. Now, Dominus Ambus had long been in talks to marry a prince of a distant country, named Rewind, and so he asked his creator to finalize the marriage contract. That would send Dominus to his new spouse's country and safely away from Overlord. The king, who had to his distress learned of Overlord's desire to consume their creation's spark, readily agreed. Soon after, Dominus pretended to go hunting sheepacron in the hills and, when the party was far away from the castle, met with mecha sent by Rewind and was spirited away to safety. The hunting party, as agreed, killed a sheepacron, and it was this mechanimal spark that the king gave to Overlord. Overlord absorbed the spark and emerged from his rooms looking well satisfied.

A vorn after this, Overlord went again to the crystal grove. Once more, he found the trion-trout in the energon pond.

"Now, then, wise trout," Overlord said. "Tell me, am I not the most beautiful monarch in all of Cybertron?"

"O, I am afraid not," the trout said, swimming on the far side of the pond.

"What!" Overlord exclaimed, for if he had only been outshone by Dominus Ambus and that mech was dead, then who could have taken his place? "Then who?"

"Why, your creation, Dominus Ambus."

"Dominus is dead!" Overlord bit out. "I absorbed his spark myself!"

"Oh, no, he is not dead. He is conjunx to the prince of a distant land."

Well, Overlord had known of the talks to espouse Dominus Ambus to Prince Rewind, and so he knew to which land Dominus Ambus had fled, and he made plans to follow. He flew the royal ship himself, and it was not long before he arrived.

Dominus Ambus was once again out hunting and saw the ship coming over the horizon.

"Ah," he said, already planning, "that is my creators' ship. If both of them are aboard, then Overlord will want to kill me." The servants, who liked Dominus Ambus well for he treated them fairly, were distressed and asked what they could do. "You will lock me in a room where he cannot get near me, and you will weld it shut, such that I cannot get out, save for a hatch you will cut that I may still have energon."

This the servants did, and when Overlord landed and demanded to see his creation, had it explained that Dominus had isolated himself for meditative purposes and could not come out. Still, Overlord made his way to the room, saying he only wanted to speak to his creation as he had regrets on the way they had parted. But while Dominus spoke with him readily enough, he would not emerge from the room.

"Then, will you at least put your hand through the hatch," Overlord cajoled, "that your creator, long parted from you, may give it a kiss?"

Dominus was wise and clever, but even wise and clever persons can have moments of foolishness. He supposed there was no harm in Overlord's request. So, Dominus put out his hand, and Overlord slipped a poison needle into it, and immediately Dominus fell down dead. When Rewind came home, with Overlord long gone, and found Dominus Ambus dead, he keened greatly in his grief. But he could not bear to have his spouse smelted down and so he caused him to be laid out on the bed in the once-locked room, and this he made into a shrine for his lost love.

But it is difficult to grieve forever, and in time, Rewind met Chromedome and took him as his second conjunx. To Chromedome he gave control of the entire castle, save the shrine to Dominus Ambus, the key to which he kept himself. The contents of the room became a long-held secret, but, eventually, Rewind told Chromedome of his previous spouse. Some time after that, Rewind opened the shrine and showed Dominus Ambus to Chromedome, seeking to have no secrets between them anymore.

Now, Chromedome was an observant mech and had some medical training besides. He noticed the poison needle still embedded in Dominus Ambus's hand, and this he took out to examine more closely. Not long after that, Dominus Ambus began to stir and soon after that, sat up alive and as handsome and clever as ever he had been. When Rewind saw this, he cried out in joy and, rushing to Dominus Ambus, kissed him and kissed him and kissed him.

Chromedome, seeing this, became very sad, thinking he had surely lost Rewind, but he did not keen. Instead, wishing only for his beloved prince to be happy, he said, "since he is your first conjunx and first love, I will leave you together and make no fuss but willingly ask the priests to dissolve the conjunx ritus."

"Oh!" Rewind exclaimed. "But I love you, too, Domey, and I don't know how I shall choose."

"If I may," said Dominus Ambus, looking between the mecha, "I also love Rewind and wish for nothing but his happiness. If he has taken you as his conjunx, Domey – "

"It's Chromedome, actually."

"My apologies. If Rewind underwent the ritus with you, Chromedome, then he must love you and be happy with you, and I would not take this from him."

Chromedome relaxed. "If Rewind will have both of us, then I'm willing to remain, and I won't ask to dissolve the ritus.'

"So, I don't have to choose between you?" Rewind asked, looking thrilled.

Dominus smiled and kissed him again. "No, love. You don't have to choose but can be conjunx to us both."

Well, Rewind was delighted with his first spouse's solution and agreed to it happily. Chromedome was happy to see Rewind so happy, and the three of them put much effort into having a harmonious union.

* * *

Another vorn passed, and Overlord went to the crystal grove and once more spoke to the trion-trout in the energon pool.

"Ah, now, wise trout," he said with great satisfaction and anticipating a satisfactory answer this time, "surely you will tell me now that I am the most beautiful monarch in all of Cybertron."

"O, but I am afraid not," the trout said, readying itself to dive to the bottom of the pool.

"Then who is it?" Overlord roared.

"Why, your creation, Dominus Ambus."

"Dominus Ambus is dead. It's a year since I put the poisoned needle into his hand."

"O, but he is not dead, not at all!"

Once more, Overlord took the royal ship and set flight for Rewind's country, determined to be done with Dominus Ambus at last.

Dominus Ambus was in the courtyard with Rewind and Chromedome when he saw the ship coming in over the horizon.

"Ah," Dominus said, "that is my creators' ship, and I suppose Overlord is going to try again to kill me."

Rewind took his hand. "I do not want to lock you up again, and I don't think Overlord will fall for it twice."

"Neither do I," Chromedome agreed. "Let us go and meet him and see what he'll try this time."

Overlord came down the ramp from the ship holding a cube of engex in his hand.

"Come, Dominus," he said pleasantly, "try this rare engex your creator has brought to you."

"It's the custom in this country," Chromedome said, "for the person who offers a drink to take a sip of it first, as a show of trust."

Overlord did not stop smiling. "But of course," he said and put the cube to his mouth. Chromedome struck the bottom of the cube so that Overlord was forced to swallow some of the engex and he fell down dead. This time, when a mech fell dead, Rewind made sure that the spark was extinguished. From there, they had only to carry Overlord's grayed structure home and smelt it.

Dominus Ambus, Chromedome, and Rewind lived long and happy lives in Rewind's kingdom, ruling with justice and wisdom. And, for all anyone knows, they are living there still.

**Author's Note:**

> Dominus's solution is canon to the original story, btw.
> 
> * * *
> 
> This story is part of the [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:  
> 
> 
>   * Short comments
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End file.
